December 18, 2013

I took this photo yesterday of a homeless person completey huddled under a makeshift blanket "shelter"and tucked into a corner on the freezing streets of Washington. D.C. The person is in front of Starbucks, and they seem to have been provided some hot coffee to help-- a nice thing by the coffee chain. It has been particularly freezing this last week and seeing the number of homeless people suffering is unbelievable. Just being out for a few minutes bundled up in layers, I was still cold, so I can hardly imagine what it is like to be out on the streets, living like this for prolonged, indefinite, periods of time. When you see others' suffering in such a pronounced way, it is hard to take life's often silly daily problems as seriously, and we shouldn't.When I juxatopse this scene, multipled thousands or perhaps millions of times over across the nation, it is also hard to understand a nation such as ours with $17.2 trillion dollars in debt.Where the heck did all that money go? (Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Total Pageviews on Blogger App

Follow by Email

Pages

About Me

Andy Blumenthal is a dynamic, award-winning leader with 30 years of experience delivering results across the public and private sectors.

Blumenthal is Business Operations Program Manager at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Previously, served progressively as Deputy Chief Operating Officer (DCOO) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response; Chief Information Officer (CIO), U.S. Department of State, Global Information Services; Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and Chief Enterprise Architect (CEA), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Coast Guard and Secret Service.

Blumenthal has been honored with the Department of State's Meritorious Award, Department of Homeland Security's Excellence Award, CIO's Ones to Watch Award, and listed as one of the Top 25 Information Managers, Top 70 Federal Tech Pros, and Top 100 Social CIOs. Blumenthal is a recognized expert in organizational transformation who shares his best practices as an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University, at his former column with Public CIO Magazine, and at his popular blog, The Total CIO. Blumenthal is known for spearheading best practices including Leadership with Heart, The CIO Support Services Framework, and User-centric Enterprise Architecture.